Thursday, February 21, 2013

Anyone who has seen/read or played any
kind of narrative should have a good idea as to what an Anti-Hero is,
a character within a story whose motivations or actions that is not
easy to define. From the classic such as Hamlet or Heathcliff to the
modern examples such as Wolverine or Vegeta, these characters work by
their own set of rules and dare to tread the grays of morality. Video
games in particular use this character type a lot with varying levels
of success. But I’m not here to discuss which video game antiheroes
are better than others. What I hope to share through my incessant
ramblings is how important this character archetype is to video games
as a method of storytelling (in its own way).

While the evolution of video games has
led to a wider acceptance of games meant for an older consumer, there
has been an equally strong push to create games for kids that inspire
creativity and most importantly educational value. I’m all for
games being educational. Hell, I’m convinced there should be games
like that for adults thanks to Assassin’s Creed. But I am a bit
perturbed by how the industry defines an educational experience or
tool by the fact that it teaches you how to spell or helps you
practice your multiplication tables.

That stuff has its place, but I feel
that developers really need to look beyond that. Or in this case look
back, but I’m getting ahead of myself. What I’m hoping for are
games targeted to kids that broaden their perspectives a bit.
Something that makes them more receptive to certain concepts when
they start learning about it in school. Since Anti-Heroes are the
topics for many a literary analysis and have become more common in
video games, I figured this would be a good starting point to show
how a game can pull off being “educational” without having to
explicitly advertise it. Keep in mind that I’m drawing on my own
experience as a lifelong lover of fiction and avid gamer, so feel
free to disagree with me all you want or be productive and just point
out the flaws in my logic.

Also since this rant is semi-inspired
by fawfulsminion&rabbidluigi’s top ten video game anti-heroes
list, I’m going to be using their #1 pick, Shadow the Hedgehog, as
my example. So if you haven’t seen it already, I recommend checking
it out, if only to see who else made the list.

Now to get things started, I need to
get into some of my personal history. Growing up, I was raised well
enough to know what was generally considered to be right and wrong.
Whenever I did something considered right such as being nice to
someone or helping out, I was praised for it. If I ever did something
wrong like telling a lie or acting like a selfish little brat, I was
punished for it. Though the mere threat of punishment was more than
enough to make me regret my actions. This is in hindsight how you
would want your kids to grow up, so they do get that distinction
between right and wrong. The media I consumed also added to that
distinction. For example I would always cheer for Luke Skywalker in
Star Wars, the hero who was brave and good (role model material)
while I would boo Darth Vader and the Emperor (clearly portrayed as
villains through appearance and actions).

I guess you could say that emphasis on
the distinction between good and bad lead to a bit of a black and
white perception of the world, which is not uncommon for kids, at
least when they are as sheltered as I was. However it was around the
age of 9-10 that this black and white world of mine began to rip
apart at the seams. Why? Because I was given a window into stories of
characters who I couldn’t define and in short blew my mind in a
metaphysical sense. Some of these stories came from, take a guess,
video games or more specifically Sonic Adventure 2 Battle and the
anti-hero co-star Shadow the Hedgehog.

Even before I ever picked up a
controller, I loved Sonic the Hedgehog. My brother and I would play 2
player mode on Sonic 2 and obsessed over Sonic Adventure whenever we
visited our cousin’s house. The games were always a ton of fun to
watch as much as they were to play. I also enjoyed Sonic the

Hedgehog as a character, his cool
demeanor, enthusiasm and care-free nature just popped off the screen
and always cheered me up, and still does to this day.

Being such a fan, I was totally hyped
for Sonic Adventure 2 when it came out in 2001. However, I was…unsure
how I was going to play the game.

Not only because
I didn’t have a Dreamcast at the time but also because Sonic was
not the only playable character. Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic’s black
and red double was advertised as a sort of evil twin if you will that
you could control along with two other characters aligned with the
side of evil.

Me, the goodie
to shoes that I was, scoffed at the idea of playing an evil
character. I wanted to be a hero and save the day, since that is what
I had been raised to like.

However, once I had a chance to play
the game and fully complete the hero’s side of the story; I was
still left with the “Dark” story before beating the game. The
desire to finish the game eventually won over my hesitance and I
started to play the villains side of the story. Doctor Eggman, the
Sonic’s series primary antagonist, played out like I thought he
would. Mad scientist? Check. Wants to take over the world for no
reason? Check. Cliched evil laugh? Double check. Rouge the Bat on the
other hand, while not truly aligned with the villain’s goal is
still selfish and manipulative, both traits that I had been taught to
perceive as bad and not to be imitated (Though Rouge was still fun to
watch). Then that left Shadow…

Where do I even begin? Well, the
beginning of course.

Shadow, while Sonic’s near double, is
also called the Ultimate Life Form. Created by Doctor Eggman’s
grandfather and then sealed away by the military due to its potential
destructive power. This, of course, prompts Eggman to break into a
military base to take this living weapon for himself in his new take
over

he world scheme. He releases Shadow
from his prison (despite his initial shock due to Shadow’s
appearance).

At first, Shadow
looked and behaved how I thought he would. Totally opposite from
Sonic, Shadow was cold, serious and angry, and more than willing to
assist Eggman conquer the world (or so it seemed). However within
less than a minute of cutscene my opinion of this character not to
mention my preconception of morality, changed. In just a few seconds,
the player is given a glimpse of Shadow’s past and how the military
invaded the space station where he was created and his only friend,
a human girl named Maria, was killed by gunshot but not before she
risked her life to save his. Suddenly, Shadow’s behavior didn’t
seem so unjustifiable anymore. Forcing me to consider what I would do
if I had a loved one taken away from me like that. Shadow’s
struggle had become relatable, I still disagreed with his methods but
I wasn’t so nervous to see how his story ended. In the end, I’m
happy I did. It was a tragic but uplifting ending that, in my
opinion, no other Sonic game has been able to match. With Shadow
realizing that Maria’s dying wish was for him to protect the Earth
and its people instead of seeking vengeance for her death. As a
result, he sacrifices his own life in order to save the world from
destruction that he had help set in motion (Ironically, he was the
true hero in the end). Not exactly the ending I was expecting from a
game about a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog capable of running at
supersonic speeds but it left a huge impact on me regardless. I was
not alone, Shadows actions in the game resulted in a skyrocketing
popularity among fans. This popularity lead Sega to revive the
character in following installment Sonic Heroes. Whether or not this
was a good decision is still debated by fans of the series, but to
me, Shadow's influence on the narrative of Sonic Adventure 2 made the
experience enlightening on top of enjoyable. That even characters
that act like villains can have justifiable motives for their
actions, adding to the complexity of the drama. It also helped me
break down some childhood behavior such as not looking beyond a
person’s appearance or label.

Now how does this LONG example, work
into my topic of education? Well, it is simply this. Sonic Adventure
2 was my first experience seeing an Anti-Hero, though I didn’t know
it at the time. It wasn’t until I started learning about them in
school, that I found out this type of character actually had a name.
Upon realizing that Shadow was in this category with other famous
literary characters, I desperately wanted to share my thoughts
through what I had experienced playing Sonic Adventure 2. I was never
allowed to though, due to the perception that video games like Sonic
the Hedgehog are not “educational”.

Even if games are not accepted to be
used to help educate kids in school, I still hold out hope that games
like Sonic Adventure 2 will get more attention for presenting these
concepts in a form that kids can comprehend. The existence of
anti-heroes in video games is a good step in the right direction but
I feel a lot more can be expanded on if the industry is given
incentive to do so. In my opinion, the best we can do as consumers is
to talk about our experiences with others, especially with parents
who have little to no knowledge of video games.

The parents will appreciate it because
it will give their kids a jump start on critical thinking on top of
avoiding M rated titles, while kids will enjoy the game not just
through game play but also due to the fact that the main
message/lesson is not being shoved in their face. We’ll have to see
what the future holds for the video game industry and the educational
community. I think, however, there is a potential profit for both
groups to gain in creating a prominent partnership. For now though,
let’s stick to getting the word out.

“A new day brings a new adventure.
But for now, rest easy heroes.” –Sonic 2 Adventure Battle Credits

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